U.S. antitrust agencies kick off 2025 with landmark merger control enforcement actions -
The U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have started the year with a bang by...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced increases to the notification thresholds and premerger filing fees under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Antitrust Improvements Act, which requires premerger notification of...more
On January 7, 2025, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission announced a record USD5.68m civil penalty to settle alleged pre-merger coordination in violation of the HSR Act. This settlement is the largest dollar penalty that has...more
1/15/2025
/ Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Competition ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Gun-Jumping ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
Oil & Gas ,
Unfair Competition
In the waning days of the current administration, the antitrust agencies continue to cross items off their holiday wish list. Since the presidential election in November, the antitrust agencies have filed a new merger...more
Democratic Commissioners Swung for the Fences, but FTC Settles for Unanimous Revisions, Still Increasing Burden on Filers -
On October 10, 2024, all five Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) Commissioners, with concurrence...more
11/13/2024
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
New Rules ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Required Forms ,
Section 8 ,
The Clayton Act
The U.S. antitrust agencies are routinely on alert for violations of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (“HSR Act”), even in instances where there are no competitive or otherwise apparent antitrust...more
On August 5, 2024, the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) filed a rare[1] gun jumping[2] civil lawsuit and proposed settlement in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against Legends...more
8/8/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Gun-Jumping ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Mergers ,
Popular ,
Pre-Merger Filing Requirements ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Settlement ,
Sherman Act
On July 3, 2024, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas (the “Court”) in Ryan LLC v. Federal Trade Commission (“Ryan”) preliminarily enjoined the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) from...more
7/12/2024
/ Appeals ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Texas
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has announced updated filing thresholds and related filing fees under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (the “HSR Act”). The new HSR Act thresholds will...more
In the nearly three years since President Biden took office, it has become clear that his Administration has sought to develop an “inflection point” for antitrust enforcement. Speeches by new leadership at both the U.S....more
On August 25, 2023, in Deslandes v. McDonald’s, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals vacated and remanded a district court’s dismissal of an antitrust case that challenged no-hire and non-solicitation clauses in McDonald’s...more
Proposed FTC and DOJ Merger Guidelines Formalize Biden Administration’s Aggressive Vision for Merger Enforcement – Top Ten Takeaways -
When losing, some players seek to change the rules. Others seek to change the playing...more
Earlier this week, the Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (the “Antitrust Agencies”) announced proposed changes to the premerger notification process that mark the most...more
On Friday, the Supreme Court held, 9-0, that two plaintiffs—Ms. Cochran and Axon Technologies—could bring their constitutional challenges against the SEC and the FTC directly in federal court, bypassing a statutorily created...more
The new Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (the “HSR Act”) thresholds will go into effect on February 27, 2023 and will apply to all transactions closing on or after that date. As previewed in...more
1/26/2023
/ Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Filing Fees ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
Mergers ,
Size of Transaction Test ,
The Clayton Act ,
Threshold Requirements
Last week, the FTC announced two significant moves. First, the FTC brought its first major standalone Section 5 actions, targeting certain companies’ employment noncompete agreements as unfair methods of competition. The very...more
1/10/2023
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Proposed Rules ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Unfair Competition
On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed into law The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 also known as The Omnibus Funding Bill (the “Bill”). The Bill includes the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act which provides...more
On November 10, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a policy statement (the “Policy Statement”) radically expanding the FTC’s interpretation of prohibited “unfair methods of competition” under Section 5 of the FTC...more
11/18/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Competition ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Mergers ,
Section 5 ,
Unfair Competition ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On Wednesday, October 19, 2022, the Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) announced that seven directors resigned from their board positions because of DOJ’s concerns that holding the positions violated the Clayton...more
The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is expected to be granted wider jurisdictional powers for merger control enforcement in legislative proposals mentioned in today’s Queen’s Speech. The powers derive from the...more
On January 21, 2022, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the annual changes to the thresholds for the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (the “HSR Act”). The official publication is...more
On Monday, October 25, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted along party lines to approve (3-2 with Commissioner Phillips and Commissioner Wilson dissenting) a new Prior Approval Policy Statement (Prior Approval...more
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division (“DOJ” and collectively, the “Agencies”) recently proposed changes to two aspects of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (“HSR Act”). The...more
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (collectively, “Agencies”) released the final version of the Vertical Merger Guidelines (“Vertical Guidelines”) on June 30, 2020. The new Vertical...more
- US Agencies Encourage COVID-19-Related Collaboration
- Practical Tips for Information Sharing & Document Creation
- Possible Delays to US Merger Approvals
The ongoing COVID-19 outbreak has, at least temporarily,...more